Cabinet Members have agreed a significant capital programme for Highways, Transportation and Strategic projects next year (2026/27) – which will see the Council allocate £41.9 million funding across the service. This includes priority investment for areas like flood alleviation, roads, structures and coal tips.
At their meeting on Wednesday, March 18, Cabinet approved the programme for the financial year ahead, starting in April 2026. The funding will aim to future-proof the road network, adapt to evolving travel demands and methods of travelling, respond to climate change, and promote safer, more sustainable travel in our communities. The following funding areas are agreed for 2026/27:
- Highway improvements – £6.63 million
- Street Lighting – £260,000.
- Structures – £12.22 million.
- Park Structures - £420,000.
- Tips and safety programme – £12.89 million.
- Traffic management – £240,000.
- Transportation infrastructure – £7.39 million.
- Flood Risk Management – £1.89 million.
The Council is also working to secure external funding to complement this programme. Welsh Government has confirmed a £12.89 million coal tips allocation in 2026/27, which is included in the list above. Not included above is a £4m allocation from the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Programme and Small Scale Works Grant, which was confirmed recently.
The Council also continues to support the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal and the South Wales Metro, which will deliver electrification of the Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil lines, and increase the frequency of rail services.
Full details about the newly-agreed programme is included in Wednesday’s Cabinet report, with key features of the investment summarised below.
Roads, Highway Structures and Parks Structures
The programme allocates £5.86 million for carriageways – including 77 full resurfacing schemes (named in the Appendix to Wednesday’s Cabinet report),along with minor surface repairs or large patching, fencing and barrier repairs, and emergency repairs. In addition, new funding is earmarked for 10 footway renewals (£565,000) and various access improvements. For unadopted roads, a £200,000 allocation extends the programme by two new schemes, at Gasworks Road (Aberaman) and Garth Wen (Trealaw).
A £12.225 million budget for highways structures is now agreed. The 2026/27 programme includes William Edwards Bridge (Pontypridd), Cynon Star Bridge (Abercynon), A4058 bridge (at Pontypridd), Machine Bridges North and South (Treforest), Gelli Culvert, Mountain Ash Town Bridges, Pentwyn Footbridge (Treorchy), Brynsadler Bridge, High Street Bridge (Pontypridd), Miskin Manor Bridge, Darren Ddu Bridge (Ynysybwl), Ystrad Fechan Bridge (Cwmparc) and Nantygwyddon Road Bridge (Llwynypia).
Meanwhile, Brook Street Footbridge (Ystrad) is substantially complete, Afon Cynon Bridge (Cwmbach) will be completed in 2026/27 having started last summer, a review of the next works required for the Rhigos Road rock netting is ongoing, further investigations are being undertaken for A4059 Commercial Street Footbridge (Aberdare), and options for the Feeder Pipe Footbridge (Abercynon) are being considered. Finally, retaining wall and confined space culvert repairs schemes are being brought forward on a prioritised basis.
Elsewhere, £420,000 funding for parks structures will progress works at Castellau Road footbridge (Llantrisant), Glyncornel Lake (Llwynypia) and Kenwyn Terrace embankment (Pontypridd), and fund advanced preparations for various other schemes. The £260,000 street lighting programme is split to cover traffic signals and street lighting upgrades, while the budget for small scale traffic management schemes (£240,000) is set. The Council has also bid for road safety funding via the Regional Transport Delivery Plan.
Coal Tips and Flood Alleviation
As mentioned above, Welsh Government has allocated £12.89 million for Coal Tip sitesnext year. It will fund the Council’s ongoing programme of targeted maintenance works and monitoring. Significant investment is planned at Abergorki Inlet and Tips (Treorchy) next year, the flagship scheme at Tylorstown is expected to progress with the completion of phase four work, while a major scheme at the Graig Ddu Tip (Dinas) is in the design phase.
Similarly, the Council consistently benefits from Welsh Government support for flood alleviation schemes. Council match-funding is made for each local project, usually at 15% of the value. A rolling three-year programme identifies projects, and business cases are submitted with the aim of securing funding. An allocation of more than £4 million has recently been confirmed by Welsh Government, to develop and/or deliver 24 schemes in 2026/27.
The £1.89 million flood alleviation funding in the new capital programme will be used to match-fund Welsh Government – along with the development of schemes outside of the Welsh Government programme, and small works related to investigating flooding. The total funding for flood alleviation next year, with internal and external funding, could rise to more than £6 million.
Transportation Infrastructure
Important allocations are made towards the delivery of ongoing transportation projects. These include the Llanharan Sustainable Transport Corridor (£4.5 million) for which revised plans were shared with the public in autumn 2025. The A465 Cynon Gateway Link Road is at an earlier stage, and will be developed using new £603,000 funding. Both of these schemes were subject to Welsh Government’s Roads Review and are being revised accordingly.
Allocations are also granted for the Park and Ride Programme (£500,000) to create extra parking at railway stations alongside the delivery of the South Wales Metro, and the Making Better Use Programme (£550,000), which targets low-cost, high-value improvements to resolve localised accessibility and connectivity issues.
Funding submissions have been made to Welsh Government’s Regional Transport Fund to complement this transportation investment. This includes the Penywaun Safe Routes in Communities scheme, Porth Park and Ride phase three, and the Pontypridd Northern Gateway. Submissions have also been made for local active travel schemes at the Cynon Trail in Cwmbach and several phases of work at Treorchy to Treherbert.
Councillor Andrew Morgan OBE, Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Investment, said: “Once again, a major capital programme has been brought forward to provide funding for Highways, Transportation and Strategic Projects, over the year ahead. It allocates more than £41.9 million in capital funding for areas that people really care about – like flood alleviation, roads, major transportation schemes, coal tip safety, active travel, street lighting and road safety. This level of investment will expand even further if our various external funding bids are successful.
“We know that the condition of local roads is important to residents, which is why we’re continuing our accelerated investment with a new programme of 77 schemes, plus funding for larger patching works, worth £5.86 million. While our investment in the highway network has seen a marked improvement in all indicators over many years, we also agree there’s lots more to be done – and we’ll use the better weather in spring and summer to make good progress. This also includes two more unadopted roads schemes to rectify privately-owned roads left in an unacceptable condition, in Aberaman and Trealaw.
“Flood alleviation is another priority, and we’re pleased to secure £4 million from Welsh Government for 24 schemes in 2026/27. Storms are becoming more frequent due to climate change, and this winter has been especially wet – including in December when we had three Amber warnings for rain in quick succession. We’ve completed more than 100 local flood alleviation schemes since 2020, and we believe this investment is working – but we also know there are many more culverts and other infrastructure that needs upgrading. The £1.89 million in our capital programme will provide match-funding for Welsh Government projects and help develop new schemes for the future.
“It’s also important to note our work to maintain and future-proof structures supporting our highway network, with large repair projects often needing complex design and engineering – plus other considerations like seasonal constraints for river working. Our programme includes £12.22 million for several more named schemes. We were also pleased to secure £12.89 million to monitor and maintain local coal tips, which is a large task that continues to be coordinated by our dedicated, in-house Coal Tips Safety Team.
“Finally, we continue to work behind the scenes on our larger transportation schemes, to alleviate traffic congestion at targeted locations. Our Llanharan Sustainable Transport Corridor proposals were consulted upon in the autumn, and officers are now considering the feedback received before a submitting a formal planning application. An extra £4.5 million is allocated towards its delivery. We’re also committed to the A465 Cynon Gateway North, which is being redesigned. Among the other local schemes being developed is the Penywaun Safe Routes in Communities scheme, and Porth Park and Ride phase three – for which we’ve submitted respective external funding bids.”
Posted on 19/03/2026